TESTICULAR PLASMACYTOMA FOLLOWING CHEMICAL ORCHIECTOMY - POTENTIAL ROLE OF HYPOGONADISM IN MYELOMA PROLIFERATION

We present a case of a 55 year old man with multiple myeloma who under went autologous stem cell transplantation and subsequently developed t esticular myeloma. Testicular enlargement was observed only after trea tment of an incidental prostatic adenocarcinoma with chemical orchidec tomy at a time when myeloma was controlled systemically. A subsequent bilateral surgical orchiectomy revealed plasmacytoma in both testis. E nhanced production of B-lymphocytes after castration has been reported and implicates testosterone as a possible negative regulator of B-cel l production. We propose that the androgen deficient state may have co ntributed to the development of plasmacytoma of the testes in our pati ent. The regulatory role of sex steroids in B-cell development is disc ussed.